The Sound of Old T. Rex: Edsel Loads "Bolan's Zip Gun" In New Deluxe Edition with "Futuristic Dragon"

Item: The Sound of Old T. Rex: Edsel Loads "Bolan's Zip Gun" In New Deluxe Edition with "Futuristic Dragon"
Author: Joe Marchese

This fall will mark 40 years since Marc Bolan's untimely death in a car crash in September 1977 at the age of 29, yet in that time, the music he left behind with T. Rex has only grown in stature. Hardly a year has gone by without posthumous compilations, deluxe reissues, and box sets, and 2017 is shaping up similarly. Edsel has recently followed its book-style box sets dedicated to Born to Boogie and the pairing of Tanx and Zinc Alloy with a new 3-CD Deluxe Edition bringing together Bolan's Zip Gun (1975) and Futuristic Dragon (1976). This set can truly be described as a multimedia collection, for the hardcover book which houses the CDs is an integral component. Both music and text winningly place into context the music recorded during a hectic and globetrotting, yet still creative, period of Bolan's too-short life.

Clearly, Bolan's Zip Gun - presented here on Disc One - was a weapon loaded with pop confections ("Zip-gun boogie is comin' on strong" per the nominal title track), and a vivid declaration of independence. It was T. Rex's tenth U.K. album and first without Tony Visconti, the producer who had guided Marc Bolan from psychedelic folkie to glam hero. The album is dominated by a loose, freewheeling and funky feel, as if the artist was not taking himself too seriously. It emphasized the stripped-down production of the band members (then consisting of Bolan, Mickey Finn on percussion, Steve Currie on bass, Dino Dines on keyboards, Davey Lytton on drums, and Gloria Jones on clavinet and vocals) at their rocking best.

Upon its release in February 1975, the album was a disappointment, failing to chart in the United Kingdom. (One potential reason might well be that much of the album's material had first appeared on T. Rex's lone Casablanca album, Light of Love, the previous year. That U.S.-only release had been filled out with songs from Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, which had not been issued in the U.S. at all.) The album isn't without merit, however. The buoyant glam pop of "Light of Love" was seemingly a surefire hit, yet it missed the U.K. top 20 by just two slots, becoming T. Rex's first single to miss that lofty list. "Think Zinc" offered stomping, honking rock, while Bolan indulged his funk influences on the groove-based outing "Solid Baby."

The easygoing, piano-driven "Precious Star" and flamboyantly boogieing "Till Dawn" struck a retro vibe, and Bolan's R&B influences similarly came to the fore on "Token of My Love," with Gloria Jones' soulful vocals bolstering his over-the-top lead. (The melody, too, took some apparent inspiration from the oldie-but-goodie "Sea of Love.") Spacey soul-funk was the order of the day on "Golden Belt," and sci-fi allusions were present on songs like "Space Boss" (featuring some down 'n dirty wailing on the saxophone) and even the colorful "Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit." Bolan was a bit more down-to-earth dropping references to his old friend and sometime nemesis David Bowie on "I Really Love You Babe." As on past CD-era reissues, bonus singles have been appended here: a "Do You Wanna Dance" revival for the disco age, and a sleek, Gloria-led revival of "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay."

Bolan and T. Rex (now lacking Mickey Finn but otherwise intact) hoped to bounce back from the tepid reception of Zip Gun when they returned to U.K. record store shelves in January 1976 with Futuristic Dragon (Disc Two of the new box). The LP opened with a blast of feedback and guitars, and lyrics worthy of a prog opus: "Relentless dimensions of quadraphonic sleep/Dwelt the wild grinding cyclopean pagan/Screaming destruction in sheer dazzling raiment..." But while the album showcased Bolan's growing ambitions and indeed adopted a darker tone than Bolan's Zip Gun, it was evident from the second track - "Jupiter Liar" - that his knack for a pop melody and seedy splendor hadn't completely disappeared. He returned to a fuller production style to bring his musical fantasias to life. The thick, densely layered production of "Chrome Sitar" clearly took a page from the Phil Spector playbook, a marked departure from the rawer sounds of Zip Gun.

The seamy yet melodic rock-and-roll tunes "All Alone" and "My Little Baby" were gilded with strings provided by veteran arranger Jimmie Haskell. His contributions also shone on "Dawn Storm," "Casual Agent," and the mock-grand instrumental "Theme for a Dragon," performed over a backdrop of screaming teens. The trifling but catchy "New York City" ("Did you ever see a woman coming out of New York City with a frog in her hand," asks its undeniably goofy lyric) happily returned Bolan to the U.K. top 20. "New York City" also featured the prominent background vocals of his old friends Flo and Eddie, as did "Jupiter Liar" and the brassy, boisterous "Calling All Destroyers," which refers back to T. Rex's epochal hit "Bang a Gong."

In a decidedly earthy mode, the band flirted with trashy disco on "Sensation Boulevard" ("Take me down to Sensation Boulevard/I got to go down...") and the top 30 U.K. hit "Dreamy Lady" (with its blunt admonition to "come to my bed/night is the right time/to get acquainted with my head...") as well as lusty bedroom balladry on the double entendre-laden "Ride My Wheels." Three singles have been retained from previous editions including the rousing David Bowie tribute and U.K. top 40 chart entry "London Boys" (not Bowie's own 1966 song of that name, but rather a Bolan original) and the non-LP single "Laser Love" b/w "Life's an Elevator." Futuristic Dragon attained a No. 50 placement on the U.K. Albums Chart.

The third disc features eleven outtakes and alternate takes from Bolan's Zip Gun and ten from Futuristic Dragon. These tracks have been culled from various past reissues and rarities compilations; the track listing here differs substantially from the 2002 double-CD remasters (issued on Edsel in the U.K. and Rhino in the U.S.) which expanded each album with an entire bonus disc. Though all of these 21 selections have been previously released, this set premieres seven songs as newly remastered by Alchemy Mastering for the very first time from first-generation tapes: "Bolan's Zip-Gun," "I Really Love You Babe" and "Golden Belt" from the Zip Gun sessions; and "Dawn Storm," "All Alone," "New York City," and "Futuristic Dragon (Intro)" from the Futuristic Dragon sessions. As some of these tracks haven't been previously appended to their respective albums, insight is gained into Bolan's creative process for shaping both original LPs.

Historian and Bolan biographer Mark Paytress provides the exhaustive liner notes fully documenting Bolan's travels from country to country, and studio to studio, for the period represented by these two often-neglected albums. His comprehensive essay is illustrated with press clippings, memorabilia images and rare photographs, making for a valuable, deep dive into his world. In addition, full lyrics are included for both original albums, as recently updated by Caron Willans for an authoritative reprinting of Bolan's words. All that's missing from this compellingly lavish book is discographical annotation as to the original appearances of the various bonus tracks.

This Deluxe Edition set, compiled by Paytress and Martin Barden, and produced by Edsel's Val Jennings and Barden, is a winning tribute to a lesser-known and surprisingly fertile period of T. Rex's recording career. Future installments in the series are equally awaited.

T. Rex, Bolan's Zip Gun/Futuristic Dragon - Deluxe Edition (Edsel BLN775240, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: Bolan's Zip Gun (T. REX BLNA 7752, 1975)